Computer printers are generally needed to print a variety of media sizes. A printer may have a maximum medium width capacity, with the capacity to accommodate a wide range of lengths, as well as widths smaller than the maximum. Some printers, such as high speed laser printers, provide dedicated paper trays for each media size. Lower cost printers such as mass-market ink jet printers generally have only one tray, typically accommodating letter width (8.5″) media.
Smaller media may be used in such printers, which have adjustable media edge stops that slide to constrain the side edges of smaller width media. Media shorter than standard letter sized lengths is normally accommodated by feeding the smaller media into a tray or input slot until its leading edge abuts a stop. While this has proven workable in some instances to accommodate envelopes and smaller index cards, in other cases there are disadvantages.
Some printers have paper trays that are not removable, and which extend well into the body of the printer, with a significant length between an insertion aperture and the leading edge stop. For media shorter than this distance, or longer by an inadequate amount, it is difficult to properly insert media, or to extract unprinted media from the tray.
In addition, many such printers are designed for compact size, and do not accommodate additional media trays or special apertures. Even for printers having special envelope apertures, these may not be suited for the shortest cards, nor may they be readily adjustable in width to ensure against skew.
A further difficulty in accommodating smaller media sizes is that many printers rely on a common media registration scheme, such as using one edge of a media tray as a fixed side edge reference for all media sizes. Any measures to accommodate smaller media that do not provide contact with this reference surface will require printer firmware changes, generating cost and complexity disadvantages.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a printer having a media tray with a media support surface and a media edge registration surface. A removable media holder has a lower portion contacting the media support surface, and defines a media receptacle above the lower portion, and having a lateral opening facing the registration surface. The media tray may be sized for conventional letter sized media, and the holder may contain smaller media and be entirely contained in the tray. The holder may be used by removing large media from the tray and inserting the holder with small media included.